Buckle.



GhH. NEARING. BUCKLE.

APPLIUATION FILED 11011.11, 1908.

Patented July 13, 1909.

` UNITED sTArns PATENT onirica.

GEORGE H. NEARING, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO NORTH da .IUDD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

BUCKLE.

i, Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented muy 13,1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, GEORGE H. NEARING, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, county of Hartford, Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckles, of which the followingv is a full, clear, and exact description. My invention relates to buckles for straps, and is essentially valuable when used in connection with straps upon which heavy strains are put, the object being to provide in such a buckle a simple and effective means for casting off the tongue automatically when the strap is pulled. This invention is essentially an improvement upon the device made the subject- 'matter of Letters Patent No. 886,129 to Paul I. Andrews, dated April 28, 1908, the object of the present invention being to' simplify and cheapen the construction and to provide means whereby the tongue can be, after it is automatically released, easily and quickly ushed back by the thumb so as to be entire y out ofthe way ofthe running end of the strap. a

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my invention in its preferred form, and as it appears in use with the strap. Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe buckle and the attached end of the strap. Fig. 3 is a plan View of thebuckle se arate from the stra Fig. 4 is a side e ovation of the buc le with the strap ends, showing the position that the tongue assumes upon being automatically released. Fig. -5 is a side elevation showing the buckle frame 4in section. V

r The buckle com rises the usual frame consisting of the side ars 1-l, the tongue bar 2 and .the end bar 3, which may be rovided with a roller, as shown, and over W ich the ruiming end ofthe strap is drawn.

4 is the tongue hinged on the tongue bar 2 in the usual manner.

,The parts thus far described comprise the conventional buckle. My improvement con- .sists in providing said buckle'with an' improved means to automatically lift the torlilgue when the runningend of the strap 1s pu ed in the proper direction'.

My automatic tongue lifter mayl be made very cheaply from wire, and comprises a forward under-bend portion 5 extending underneath the tongue just in front of its hinged bearing on the tongue bar'2. Thetwo sides of this under bend stand on opposite sides of the hinge knuckle at the rear end of the tongue and project u over the tongue bar'2, and thence rearward yto a point somewhat to the rear of said tongue bar. By preference this tongue lifter has its ends extended out laterally to furnish a broad bearing, as indicated by the bearing parts 5a 5a. One end of the strap has a loop 6 around the tongue bar 2 as well as the tongue lifter.

6 represents what I term the running end of the strap. This strap end is passed through the buckle loo in the usual manner, and is pulled back unti the pro er tension is had. So long as tension is on t e strap, and the free end is pushed back, as shown in Fig. 4, the tongue 4 will remain elevated,`v as shown in solid lines. When theproper tension is u on the strap, the tongue may be pressed own by the thumb sol as to pass through one of the perforations in the strap, after which it will beheld down by the strap, as shown in Fig. 1. W'hile the tongue is in this position, it will be seen that the bearing end 5a of the frame will lift the tcp of the loop 6,.as by a lever action. When it is deis again grasped in the usual manner and pulled. The moment the tongue is free from the opening in the strap end, the )ressing down action of the upper part ol' t e loop upon the rear end of the tongue lifter wil automatically lift the tongue to the position indicated in solid lines in Fig. 4, so as to free it from said strap. As a matter of fact, the angle of the tongue lifting frame is somewhat exaggerated in Fig. 1, for thev purposeof more f clearly illustrating the action. In practice it is only necessary to have a sufiicient pressure upon the frame to merely cause the'tongue to become freed from the strap, thereby avoid ing the necessity of picking it out with the iingers. 'Ilhis permits the user to apply both hands to the running end 6a of the strap in releasing it. The moment the tongue is free, and it is possible for the user to release one hand, he may then engage the end of the tongue with the thumb andk lthrow it back. to the position indicated in dotted Iinesin Fig. 4, entirely out of range of the stra end 6, thereb avoiding 'all possibility o rengagement urin the act of removing said strap end from t e buckle. In the patent to which I have above referred thetongue releasingr frame is made integral 'sired to release the strap, the running end 6 V and rigid with the tongue, with the result that it holds the tongue, whenreleased 1n this manner, rigidly in such a position that its end is close to the end `68L of the strap. Since in that construction' it is not possible to throw back the tongue with the thumb at such time to a osition such as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 of the drawings, there is danger of rengagement of the tongue with the strap.' My invention will be seen tovprovide a very substantial advantage and improvement over the construction set forth in the aforesaid patent, because the tongue may be moved freely to a position where reengagement is impossible. y

In the preferred form of my invention, the under bend 5 of the frame is preferably embraced within the knuckle of the tongue', as shown in Fig. 5, so as to be loosely held therein and partake of a hinging movement, whereby when the tongue is thrown back to the dotted lines shown in Fig. '4, the rear bearings 5a of said frame will recede in said loop, as indicated in dotted lines in said figure. By embracing the under-bend 5 in the eye or knuckle of the tongue, the danger of accidental separation of the frame from the buckle before the buckle is attached to the strap, is prevented. Of course, when the stra is in place, it serves to hold the frame in p ace, irrespective of Whether the underbend of the latter is held within the eye of the tongue.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the tongue and tongue lifter, as combined in Fig. 1', 'operate after the manner of 'a lever,y

the fulcrum being at the tongue bar, whereby when'tension is put upon the strap' in a vdirection away from thebuckle the tendency lwill be to press down the tongue lifter and simultaneously lift the free end of vthe tongue.

What I claim is:

1. In a buckle, a frame including a ton e support, a tongue pivoted thereto, andu a tongue lifter loosel connected to said tongue and extending to t e rear thereof.

2. In a buckle, a frame including a ton ue support, a tongue pivoted thereto, `an a' tongue lifter loosely connected to said tongue and extending past the tongue ybar and to the rear thereof, said lifter being provided with i oppositely and laterally extending bearing en s located to the rear of said bar in combination with a strap looped around said support'and the rear extension of said lifter.

3. In a buckle, a frame including a tongue f combination with a strap looped around said support and the rear extension of said lifter.

4. In a buckle, a frame having a tongue support, a tongue, a substantially closed knuckle at one end thereon surrounding said bar, and a tongue lifter frame loosely connected to and held by said tongue, a portion of said frame being arranged within said knuckle, another portion of said frame extending to the rear of said tongue bar.

5. In a buckle, a frame, a Vtongue pivoted t'o one part thereof and overlapping another part, a tongue lifter loosely connected with said tongue and extending away from it beyond its hinged axis so as to form the rear arm of a lever, of which the tongue proper is the front arm, said extension bar being at an angle with the plane in which the tongue lies whereby pressure upon said rear arms to- Ward said plane tends to raise the point of the tongue from its normal osition in contact with the frame, in comination with a Y strap inclosing said rear armof the tongue and that part of said frame which constitutes the pivotal axis of the tongue whereby teny slon u on said strap in a direction away from t 1e buckle tends tol press down the rear end of the tongue lifter frame and raise the free end of the tongue.

GEORGE H. NEARING. Witnesses: i

KENNETH J. HOFFMAN, PETERA F. ODoNNELL. 

